10-17-2008, 04:54 PM
Those rivers only put out enough to be viable during our wetter periods, and come drought not much at all, plus there's not enough of em to be feasable plus the noted harm to a rare public commodity (fresh water rivers).
With modern drilling technology, I suspect some other place would work. The existing plant could produce enough, but their location is a problem, not of their own, but the state's problem.
Burning cane was the pre harvest ritual, it removed the leaf before harvest and is done by most cane producers every 2 years or so. It is still harvested and burned in Maui which hasen't been quite as yuppified as BI. It was one of the main causes (bi annual smoke) of the demise of cane here, and at that time UH had a huge presence in Hawaii, with the original geothermal, OTEC or ocean thermal in Kona, and Kohala task force in N Kohala, all UH efforts to show the backwoods locals here how to do it. Everything they touched failed dismally including geothermal, until a private corp ORMAT took it over, now everyone hates Ormat because they're succesful.
Remember last year when the Navy offered UH Hilo 10 Mil for a building and a contract which would be classified, and some UH Manoa activists came over and badmouthed it, leading to a No Navy decision. Try and find out about any of the UH failures on the BI, and tell me about secrets! Stopping burning, and consequently cane, period was their only sucess. Maui didn't have the UHH status, and was spared as they had less professors around. And yes Bagasse was burned, unfortunately the Hilo mill did loose some into the ocean, but it was being worked on.
With modern drilling technology, I suspect some other place would work. The existing plant could produce enough, but their location is a problem, not of their own, but the state's problem.
Burning cane was the pre harvest ritual, it removed the leaf before harvest and is done by most cane producers every 2 years or so. It is still harvested and burned in Maui which hasen't been quite as yuppified as BI. It was one of the main causes (bi annual smoke) of the demise of cane here, and at that time UH had a huge presence in Hawaii, with the original geothermal, OTEC or ocean thermal in Kona, and Kohala task force in N Kohala, all UH efforts to show the backwoods locals here how to do it. Everything they touched failed dismally including geothermal, until a private corp ORMAT took it over, now everyone hates Ormat because they're succesful.
Remember last year when the Navy offered UH Hilo 10 Mil for a building and a contract which would be classified, and some UH Manoa activists came over and badmouthed it, leading to a No Navy decision. Try and find out about any of the UH failures on the BI, and tell me about secrets! Stopping burning, and consequently cane, period was their only sucess. Maui didn't have the UHH status, and was spared as they had less professors around. And yes Bagasse was burned, unfortunately the Hilo mill did loose some into the ocean, but it was being worked on.
Gordon J Tilley